On the banks of the Emme River, surrounded by forests and impressive sandstone cliffs, lies the medieval town of Burgdorf. With a population of over 16,000, it's more a city than a village, as its name pretends. As you leave the Zähringen town, the views extend to the stately castle and the symmetrically arranged cubicles of the swimming pool. Their original design dating back to 1929 gives the baths a nostalgic touch. After Rüegsauschachen (the name says it all), the cycling path runs along the Emme and through the Schachen with its riparian forest. Until Lützelflüh, you follow on the Herzroute (Heart Route), which then branches off toward Affoltern and the Emmental Show Dairy. The village of Lützelflüh is home to the Gotthelf Centre. Albert Bitzius, the writer's real name, served here as vicar and priest. The following quote from his book "Die Wassernoth im Emmental" (The Water Crisis in the Emmen Valley, 1837) can be read at the Gohlhausbrücke: "Dem wilden Strome war auch diese Brücke im Wege" (This bridge, too, stood in the way of the raging river). Gotthelf used to live nearby.

There are many wooden bridges along the Emme, surrounded by Höger (hills) and Chräche (remote places). At Lauperswil, free-range chickens enjoy their freedom next to impressive pumpkins and bleating goatlings. At Obermatt, the smaller Ilfis joins the larger Emme. Shortly afterwards, you reach Langnau, the capital of Emmental cheese. The cycling route continues slightly uphill. The local history museum at Trubschachen depicts life in the Emmen Valley in the days of Gotthelf. Meantime, those with a sweet tooth can binge on biscuits at Kambly-Trubschachen.

Not quite as relaxed is the atmosphere on the main road to Wiggen. Fast cars dominate, zipping past green meadows, where cats are hunting for mice. Nothing can fluster them. Without even noticing it, you cross from the Bernese Emmen Valley into Lucerne's Entlebuch, from Emmentaler cheese to Entlebuch coffee, so to speak. Here you are in the Entlebuch UNESCO Biosphere, a moorland of national importance with magnificent mountain pine, beech, spruce and fir forests. Visible in the southeast: the Schrattenflueh and its unique karst landscape. Eventually, your reach Escholzmatt with its heritage site of national importance and its fascinating, late-gothic church.